This invention relates to a ring buoy which, when ejected into the water, is automatically separated into three parts: one part is an inflatable ring buoy, a second part is a ring buoy partially filled with a buoyant solid and having a smoke signal of long duration built into it, and the third part is a similar ring buoy partially filled with a buoyant solid and having built into it a flashing light and preferably an emergency radar beacon.
Ring buoys are, of course, well known in lifesaving on the water and particularly in the seas and oceans. When someone falls overboard a ring buoy is thrown to him, or better sent to him, by a device such as is shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,067. The present invention uses an ejection system substantially identical to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,067 with the exception that arrangements are made so that if the ship as a whole sinks, the buoy itself will float to the top and automatically separate into its three parts.
Although the ring buoy shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,067 is associated with a smoke signal, such smoke signals have usually been produced for only about 15 minutes, and it is desirable that the smoke signal be produced over a much longer period. Yet, buoys heretofore have not been capable of carrying with them very bulky equipment needed to provide a 60-minute smoke signal.
The reason why short smoke signals are not considered adequate is that many of the ships today are so large that if a man falls overboard it takes far more than 15 minutes simply to turn the ship around. A smoke signal with a short life may attract sufficient attention to get the ship started turning around, but by then the smoke signal may be gone, and it will then be difficult to help pinpoint the location of the man overboard.
Flashing lights, such as strobe lights, have also been built into ring buoy combinations, as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,067. They are useful primarily at night, the smoke signal being relied on during daytime. However, neither the smoke signal nor the strobe light of U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,067 were mounted permanently of the buoy itself, but were strung to it. With such structure, there has been the objection that the smoke signal and the flashing light signal were so close to each other that the smoke tended to veil the flashing light, so that it could not be seen until the smoke had dissipated. In other words, at night the smoke signal tended to veil the light for a time sufficient to prevent one, particularly on a stormy night, from seeing the initial distress signal. By the time the smoke has dissipated, the ship may be too far away for the flashing light to be seen.
In the present invention, structure is provided by which the strobe light and the smoke signal are normally separated from each other, although they are held in tow in the same system. Thus, a man overboard is provided with life-saving support means while at the same time signals are sent out which should make his location highly visible.
Another difficulty with ring buoys heretofore in use was that they floated horizontally. While this is satisfactory from the standpoint of providing an object to cling to, it is not so desirable from the standpoint of emitting smoke signals or sending out light and radio signals. In fact, in some situations the buoy might float upside down and not be properly operative.
Another type self-inflatable life preserver device, wherein a spherical shell splits apart in water to release and inflate a ring buoy, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,546.
In the present invention, the central inflated portion floats horizontally, but the two other sections, which carry the lights, smoke, etc., are structured to float vertically with the light, radio signal and smoke emission orifice at or near the top.